Friday, August 4, 2006

Pop Star PuppyOriginally uploaded by egret's nest.This is NOT sleepwalking behavior but how can younot love the "puppy lips" she's giving!

Last night, Ruth came out around midnight. She was half-asleep and drowsy. Greg and I were playing Toontown [click] and I wanted to show her a new feature that had been added to the game. She had to go potty while it was loading and then she came back in tears. I finally realized that she'd been sleep-walking again, wasn't half-asleep and drowsy but totally asleep and unaware. She'd woken up while going potty and been pretty scared about the whole deal. Poor thing. Took quite awhile to calm her down! Greg and I had no idea she was sleepwalking -- she hasn't done it in ages.

The first time we knew something was up about her sleeping was when she was like 11 months old. She had a night terror episode. Well, I'd imagine that the terror was more for Greg and I than her since we'll never forget it and she doesn't remember it. She woke up (we thought) screaming her head off. Terrified, frantic screaming. We were SO freaked out. Let me tell you folks that holding your sweet angel girl in your arms, whispering, "It's okay, Mommy's here" in her arms and knowing that she's not hearing you, not soothed, not comforted, not responding is not a fun thing. Greg suggested that we put on her Baby Mozart video. I looked at him with all the disbelief I could muster thinking, "As if!" and said, "Fine, go ahead." So, he did. And, within three notes, she was sitting on my lap laughing at the tv screen.

Freaky!

Since then, we've had many episodes of sleepwalking. She'd come out while I was working on the computer and we'd talk but I'd realize that her responses were gibberish and I'd carry her "not all there" form back to bed and tuck her in. Last night was different -- she wasn't speaking gibberish -- she wasn't saying much but she seemed fully interactive. But, clearly, she wasn't fully interactive.

1 comment:

My oldest had the night terror thing when she was a baby. It's pretty much died down, but every once in a while, she wakes up scared to pieces and can't explain why. Poor babies...I can understand the feeling of helplessness you feel.